Home not so sweet Home
by RGZ Archer
Summary: A year after fleeing to earth, the trio of hero's have returned to Galaluna. Modula has been defeated, but not all is well. How will the heros deal with a crumbling world, new problems, and old promises?  Genre updated based on most recent chapter.
1. Ruins

Home not so sweet home

AN: As I have said with my other recent posts, I WILL return to my older fics, I just want to let my muse run free for a little while before I put her back in her cage again. This is a oneshot that might become a two shot, but I'm not going to take up seriously writing for this series until I get some of my older works done. This is just an idea that has been running around in my head that wouldn't leave until I wrote it out. I had this almost fished several days ago, but then 'Fortress of Deception' aired and I had to completely rewrite it. Then another author posted a new fic and I was basically forced to scrap the entire first 'chapter' leaving me with this.

I do not own Sym-Bionic Titan, if I did Lance's cover would have been Ilana's overprotective boyfriend and not her brother (also there would be more focus on Ilana instead of overly focusing on Lance _every_ episode.)

* * *

Princess 'Acting Queen' Ilana frowned as she moved through what she was positive to be one of the few remaining intact buildings on Galaluna.

It had been a little over a year since she had last set foot on her home planet. A year of living in exile on a backwater planet tucked away in the farthest corner of the galaxy. It had been an interesting experience, and she would be lying if she said that it had been completely unbearable. If anything she would say that it was like a vacation, less than she normally had but far from 'roughing it' as humans would say.

She had learned a great deal, and much had happened in that time. She could honestly say that she had many happy memories, some of the happiest in her life in fact. But that was then, this was now.

After a year of hiding and doing their best to avoid drawing attention to themselves, it had finally become apparent just why her father had selected Lance to be her guardian. He might not have been their best, the strongest or the smartest, but in other ways he was all of these and more.

His level of skill in combat was beyond astounding, head and shoulders above nearly all of his peers. But what truly made him special, what made him unique was his age.

At the age of sixteen, he was easily one of the five greatest warriors their planet had ever produced. As time passed he would only become stronger, faster, and more skilled. Combined with the Titan he was more than just a force to be reckoned with. General Modula knew all of their planets secrets and everything about their military strength, all save the Titan.

A promising young soldier combined with the only weapon they had Modula was unaware of had turned out to be their Ace in the Hole, their only chance for victory in this war.

Silently she mused that Lance's unorthodox thinking and willingness to break the rules were another aspect that made him dangerous. That was a side of him that she had come to appreciate and enjoy the company of greatly so in recent months.

With a tiny smirk gracing her features she paused to bow respectfully to the guard waiting at the door. He saluted her before opening the passageway then returned to his post.

"_I had forgotten just how…stuffy being formal all the time can be,"_ a quiet voice echoed in the back of her mind. Only a few days had passed since her return and she was already missing the freedom of being a lowly 'civilian'. She had to be careful with her posture, her choice of words, even the clothes she now wore.

"_Calm down, don't let everything get to you at once. Focus on the now and what is within your power to control,"_ 'Lance' said to her.

That was something else that she had grown accustomed to in the latter months of her exile. There were times that she swore she could hear him speaking to her, even when he was a great distance away from her. She wasn't so naive as to believe that it was telepathy of some sort, and Octus has assured her that it was not connected to their forming Titan.

Lance had proposed that it could have been her 'thinking' like him, that she had spent enough time around him to know how he would think or react to certain situations. He even admitted to having the same thing from time to time with General Modula or her father 'speaking' to him. When pressed if he ever heard her voice however the Corporal quickly clamed up and the subject was a closed matter.

Reaching the end of the passage way, she waited for the doors sensor to detect her and open.

Several seconds passed before they did, half way and came to a screeching halt, stuck between opening and remaining stuck the automatic doors shook and shuttered.

Letting out a sigh of aggravation she growled before lifting the end of her skirt several inches and delivered a fierce kick to the stubborn device.

Sure enough it quickly opened the rest of the way allowing her entrance. She could see several technicians quickly approaching her, most offering her apologies, some offering excuses while only one out of the entire group actually went to examine the door to see what was wrong with it. Taking a momentary glance at the lone technician she made sure to remember his face.

"_I'll see if Octus can find more suitable work for this one,"_ she mentally noted. It was something passive she had been doing since arriving and the liberation of the planet, taking note of people who actually did their job were in short supply from what she had observed thus far, and the few who had were the ones she was making sure to keep close to her.

Despite her private ponderings, she had been keeping track of what the others had been saying, so with a polite and as honest a smile as she could plaster she accepted their apologies and pardoned them of their 'error' with the door before politely ordering them to get back to their tasks.

As the technicians scurried about returning to their responsibilities, she moved towards the back of the massive building. It had once been the hanger bay of a starport, but due to its close proximity of the palace and the current state of affairs she had temporarily altered its purpose to that of a defense post.

General Modula had been quick to destroy most of the planets defenses, be it a fighter craft or any sort of armor or weapon that might be used by the rebels. What they had found left was less than five percent of their fighting forces intact. Three dozen fighters and one frigate was all that remained of Galaluna's once fearsome armada, while their armored division was less than a dozen strong and contained only two functional Manus units.

Though he had been gravely injured, Modula had escaped, and given their current military strength pursuit was out of the question. Sighing mentally, she reminded herself that even security patrols were out of the question. What few defenses they could find or repair to working order had been moved as close to the palace as possible, for at the moment they were nearly the only defense Galaluna had.

As she reached the back of the hanger she felt her spirits rise however as she reached her destination.

Lance's Manus armor.

It was in bad condition, worse than she could recall ever seeing it back on earth, but it was still in far better shape than it had been when they found it after the liberation of their world. They had used Titan to deal with the majority of the Mutraddi Ultra Beasts and most of the Mutraddi forces in general, but then General Modula himself challenged them. Lance instructed them to separate and search for her father while he dealt with Modula.

Had it been anyone else she wouldn't have agreed, but she trusted Lance, she knew he was skilled and knew he could handle himself.

She knew that he would not die, not if he promised.

When they returned with her father and a small army in toe, the sight that met them nearly turned her blood to ice.

Lance had been torn out from his armor, and had suffered greatly at the General's hands. It was then that she understood what he had been trying to do, why he had sent her and Octus to free her father and rally the people.

With no Ultra Beasts and few remaining Mutraddi, Modula was alone. As powerful as he was and as skilled as he was in combat, even he had not emerged from his duel with Lance unscathed. Beating on an unconscious teenager was one thing, but to fight the entire population of an angered planet was another.

Pity they never had the chance to land a blow on him.

It had been said before that Lance would in time be the most dangerous soldier Galaluna had ever produced. That day however, under the failing light of the sun, the people, and more importantly Modula learned that Ilana was the most dangerous _being_ Galaluna had ever produced.

There was a part of her that was ashamed at how she had reacted, how she had fought before the eyes of not only her father, but a good number of her people. 'Street fighting' was what earthlings called it, uncouth and uncivilized was what her people would probably label it. It hadn't been so much of a fight as it had been a one sided beating, but at the time she didn't care, nothing mattered, not her father, not her people, nothing.

He had still managed to escape, but she knew his pride had been shattered beyond repair. He would return, though not in person she wagered, not until she had been slain.

By virtue of the divine Lance had survived, barely, and even now his life was in danger. She banished the thought as she continued to inspect the armor before her. Wires were exposed, armor panels were missing, and it looked like someone had taken a can opener to it.

Still, it was safe, and in time it would be back in operating condition just as its pilot.

That had been another of her less than stellar moments, and she knew that her people were watching, judging her actions to see if she was indeed ready for the responsibility to rule.

It had been by sheer chance that she happened upon the armor as it was being harvested for parts to repair the other Manus armor they had found earlier. To say she had been furious would have been an understatement.

The men tried to explain to the 'inexperienced' princess that there was nothing special or unique about Lance's armor, and that any Manus armor unit could be used for the Sym-bionic fusion. They were simply taking what little functioning material they could from a now defunct unit to get the other up and running should it be needed.

Her temper had been on its fringes at that point, but then one of the engineers crossed the line.

He calmly informed her that it was within his right and his authority to salvage the armor unit.

With a voice that made the hairs on the back of their necks stand on end, Ilana calmly replied that it was within her right and her authority to have him sent through the Rift Gate without so much as a space suit.

She could still hear her words echoing in her mind. It was yet another strike against her, another mistake she had made in her short 'rule' that she knew was going to be remembered far longer than any good she did.

"_Princess Ilana, the ruler who chewed out the chief engineer of Galaluna's armed division because he dared deface her boyfriends Manus armor,"_ she scoffed to herself, never mind the fact she had liberated the planet from a madman, never mind the fact she had ended an occupation that had lasted an entire year, no, she would go down in history as the little princess that ticked off and chewed out every important figure her planet had during its weakest hour.

"God I'm turning into Lance," the princess muttered to herself.

In light of her outburst she made another mistake, a slip of the tongue that while minor she knew would be remember for just as long as what brought it on. She had ordered Lance's Manus armor to be repaired, rebuilt, and 'pimped out' before she promptly face palmed at the earth term that had slipped out.

With a groan of frustration she then reworded her instructions, that they were to return it not only to full operating condition, but that they were to make it aesthetically fitting for her people's greatest hero.

_That_ they understood. She left, and silently prayed to the Goddesses that Octus never caught wind of her slip, and that he never attempted to explain what 'pimping out' meant.

As for her decision regarding Lance's armor, it had been two fold. The first was that she had learned over the course of her time on earth that men had an unusual fixation with anything that they perceived as their property, especially with anything that was sentimental in nature.

It had been only a few months before returning home that Lance had begun telling her about his past. It was never much, just bits and pieces here and there. But one of the pieces that he had revealed to her was how he received his first demerit and major black mark on his record.

She was surprised at first when he told her about the fight that had taken place on the day he was supposed to be presented with the Medal of Excellence, but when he revealed that the Manus armor he used to fight Baron that day was the very same armor he now used, she realized just how important it was to him, that in his mind the armor was 'his'. Given how protective he was of his car that he and Octus built, she knew he must have held it in even higher regard.

The second reason was that as she learned about Lance and his past, she saw just how often he was overlooked or passed over and unnoticed. He worked hard, and despite his attitude there was no excuse for him to have been overlooked to the point he had been. He might not have been commander material, but he had fought and earned more than the rank of Corporal for sure.

At first she thought of giving him several of her peoples highest awards and medals, but quickly realized that they would mean little if anything to him. Her second idea had been to have him assigned as her full time bodyguard, but she realized that would appear to be showing favoritism. Her third and final idea had been to grant him several promotions, all of which he had earned by this point, but again she realized this could appear to others as a way of showing favoritism.

So when this little situation came up, she knew she had found what she was looking for, a way to not only reward Lance for all that he had done (even if it was far from being what he deserved in her mind) but make sure he was in some way noticed for once and not simply swept under the rug. Anytime he was seen in his armor he would be recognized as the hero of her people.

There had been few changes from what she could tell, and for that she was actually thankful, she wanted him to be recognized, not a beacon. Still she knew it would take some time before it was finished.

Satisfied that everything was developing as well as could be expected, she left the hanger and made her way to her second and final personal destination of the day.

As she activated her Corus armor, she idly mused if there had ever been a ruler in the history of her people to travel via personal power armor, but quickly pushed the thought aside as she surveyed the city below.

Crumbling buildings dotted the landscape like craters on earth's moon, the few buildings that still stood that is. She remembered when the land was sprawling with vast cities beyond imagination, but now all that stood were reminders of just how terrible war really was.

"_I don't know which is worst, how bad things are, or that it was like this when we arrived,"_ she asked herself as she noticed a building collapse on its own free will just as she passed it. Modula seemed to have been driven to completely destroying the planet rather than actually ruling over it.

"_So much death, so much destruction, it will take many years for us to rebuild and recover from this,"_ she thought before once again 'hearing' Lance respond to her. _"True, but time is one thing that will always exist. Anything can be fixed; it just takes time and effort."_

Feeling her lip tug slightly, she landed outside the palace, the one building that Modula had left fully intact on all of Galaluna, and deactivated her armor.

There to greet her were several members of the Royal Guard who she greeted kindly and exchanged pleasantries with, though this was little more than her running on 'auto pilot' as she had come to call it. Again it was something she had picked up from her former guardian, the ability to speak with others without actually thinking. A part of her mind heard them, and she for all appearances she was actually conversing with them. The only time this was actually true however was on the off chance a certain word or name came up in the conversation, otherwise her thoughts were elsewhere on more important matters.

Once again the sound of her heeled boots clicking echoed through an empty hallway. There were few people in the royal palace at this time of the day, though it was crowded during the night as she had opened its doors to the people whose homes had been destroyed. Rebuilding took time, time and people. Her experience ruling was limited but she had learned a few things during her exile.

Coming to a stop, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath before opening the door before her.

She remembered once upon a time when the immense room that stretched on further than the eye could see had been the royal banquet hall. She remembered the festivals, the dances, the many occasions it had been filled with society's upper class and elite. Now however it was lined with makeshift beds and cots, filled with the wounded, the injured, and the dying.

As she made her way through the isle, feeling a thick and heavy miasma settle in her heart, she again wondered just how her people could think of her as their 'hope' how she could possibly be anything that brought light to their hearts or minds.

Hearing a wet hacking cough, she paused to see a soldier struggling to rise and salute her.

Without a second thought she quickly approached the man and knelt at his side, placing one hand upon his chest and gripping his raised wrist with the other.

"Shhh, rest, save your strength for now," she assured the man as she helped him lie back. Seeing him weakly nod, she offered a small smile as she took hold of his hand with both of hers. It was a small thing really, a display of kindness she herself had not known for most of her life. The sheer power that could be displayed and given to another through simple contact had surprised her, but it was at this time the only thing she could offer the many brave souls who now surrounded her.

Rising to her feet, she felt a lump in her throat, the weight of the responsibility on her thin shoulders was crushing, and for the first time in over a year, she was completely alone in dealing with it.

It took her far longer to reach her next destination than she had hoped, but after repeating the incident from before with several others who seemed to be determined to show 'proper respect and honor' to her she finally reached the back of the massive room, a set of double doors the led to the storage room where extra chairs had once been kept.

She had only taken three steps into the room before she felt an honest and true smile grow across her visage.

"Father?"

The large man's head turned, and while it took several seconds he responded in kind.

"Ilana, I wasn't expecting to see you so soon."

The princess took seat in the chair at his bedside.

The father and daughter, reunited yet again spoke for only a few minutes. Time was precious, and unfortunately she still had many other responsibilities to take care of, but she made sure to steal away a few minutes every day to visit what in her mind was the most important place on Galaluna at this time. She was always careful to not bring up too much of what was happening with her father, he was recovering but was still weak from what he had endured over the last year. Positive things, good news, these were the reports she would bring him, and though they were few they were the only comforting things she could bring him at this time. She had sought his advice and guidance on more important matters, but those few exceptions aside her visits were always on the positive side of things.

Biding her father farewell, she gathered her strength as she rose and turned to the room's second bed.

Unlike her father who was covered in bandages, but for the most part recovered and merely resting to regain his strength, this beds occupant was in far worst shape.

Both arms and one of his legs were in crude splints, the best they could offer at this time as medical supplies were still in short supply and reserved for dire emergences. His body covered in cloth bandages as her father, his face was the only thing she could even see. Her heart ached at the sight of his eyes swollen shut and the bruises that colored his face. Perhaps the worst was the machince he was hooked up to, the name escaped her but she knew that Octus had built it from memory based on an earth device. The exact specifics were unknown to her, but he had explained that it was basically breathing for him until his lungs were able to work on their own again.

"_Lance…"_

Four days had passed since they returned; four days had passed since she had heard the voice of the young man who had protected her with his life.

"Lance…I…things are…doing better, they found a second Manus armor today, and Octus thinks he might have long distance communications restored by tomorrow, we'll be able to contact our old allies for help, supplies…" pausing when her voice started to crack she knelt at his side and gripped his hand in hers.

Thankful that her back was to her father and that he couldn't see the strong front she had put up crumbling, she struggled to maintain what self-control she had left.

"Lance…please wake up…I need your help…I need your strength," she whispered.

It might have been her imagination, but she thought she felt his hand tighten ever so slightly in hers.

"Cor sine corpus possum vixi unicus parumper," she begged before regaining her composure and giving his hand one last squeeze. Rising, she bade her father farewell as she returned to face the growing epidemic of a crumbling people. They looked to her for strength, and for as long as she could she would give it. She could only hope however that her own source of strength would soon return to her.

* * *

AN: Yeah, it usually takes me awhile to get characters frame of mind set so I can write them; hopefully I didn't butcher anyone here. I felt that there was already enough focus on Lance both here on the site and in the show, so I wanted to put a little spotlight on Ilana. I might do more with this but at this time my other works take precedence to this one. If anything this might become a series of one shot drabbles. As for what Ilana said to Lance at the end, well, it's not really a secret, just another language lol, it's something for readers to try and figure out if they want to.

Till next time, ja ne.


	2. Beginnings

Beginnings

AN: Alright, I figured that since last chapter was focused on Ilana, despite having the entire show revolve around him it would only be fair to have this chapter star Lance. Now, he is currently in a coma of sorts (more like out cold) but that means I have a lot more freedom. So consider this chapter to be a memory he is dreaming about or reliving.

I do not own Sym-Bionic Titan, if I did Kimmy's nose wouldn't look like one of the Easter Island statues.

* * *

Hearing a light cough from behind Lance sighed.

"_What does she want now?"_ It was bad enough that the princess ha bugged him throughout the entire day, but now it seemed that she wasn't content to let him be even after a full day of 'shopping'.

Goddess how he had come to loath that word.

"Yes?" he asked doing his best to mask his annoyance as he turned to face her.

Seeing her suddenly become hesitant he raised an eyebrow.

"I…Lance…do you…do you respect me?" she asked, her voice somewhere between questioning and slightly fearful.

That he had not expected.

"Respect you?" he repeated, rolling the question over in his mind trying to figure out just where this had come from.

"You are the heir to the throne, princess of Galaluna, and daughter of my king, of course I respect you," he replied almost robotically.

"Not like that, I mean…you do most of what I ask, but you never seem…happy doing it. When my father ordered you to protect me you didn't hesitate for an instant, but whenever I give you an order you act like I'm asking you to perform a suicide mission," she clarified.

"Princess, you are-" he was surprised when the small blond cut him off.

"You do what I ask most of the time, but you always hesitate, you second guess and think about it even if only for a second, but you always followed my fathers orders without a second thought, why?"

"_Something isn't adding up here. Why is she bringing this up at this late an hour?"_ he wondered. It was true that she would at times come to him with strange questions, but this was by far one of the stranger ones.

"_Options, unavailable, more information required for definitive solution,"_ the soldier part of his mind kicked in sensing problems in the near future.

"I followed your fathers order without a second thought because he is my king, his word is law," Lance responded.

Incorrectly it seemed.

"And mine isn't? I'm supposed to be next in line for the throne; shouldn't you follow my orders without question like you would my fathers?"

"_Hostility detected. Threat minor, best course of action: Attempt to disarm and remove from person,"_ the soldier part of his mind suggested.

"The only reason I can think of that you follow my fathers orders without question, but not mine is that you don't respect me…" sighing, the princess seemed to wilt before his eyes. "If you don't respect me…why would anyone else?"

Now things were making sense. He knew that she was attempting to run for a position within the school body, Class President if he recalled correctly, citing that it was a good way she could gain some understanding for responsibility of power over people. He also knew that her campaign was going rather poorly. It seemed that her failure in this endeavor was causing doubt in her abilities to rule her people.

"Your father is king, you are princess, and you will be queen, the people will follow your command when the day comes. You have nothing to worry about," he stated blankly.

"Did you even pay attention to history class last week?" she demanded. "Look at earth's history, look at how many monarchs have been killed by their own people because they lost the peoples favor!"

Raising an eyebrow Lance responded as coolly and calmly as he could.

"These are humans, a violent and very…unsettling species. Their first solution to anything that angers or upsets them is to kill it. There has never been a revolt in our people's history, you know that."

Seeing that his words were having little effect, he mentally groaned. _"This is going to come back and bite me I know it."_

Drawing from the limited experience he had gained over the weeks they had been on earth, Lance attempted the one thing he knew the princess responded to.

The truth.

"Ilana, I respect you as a person, I respect you as a competent fighter, and I respect you as a member of the royal family. But if you want the absolute truth, the reason I follow your fathers orders without question but not yours, it's because I do not respect you as an authoritative figure. Your father is a war hero, and has over the course of many years proven to be a reputable man and effective leader. You are a sixteen year old girl who has never been forced to deal with conflict or any serious problem in your life."

Seeing her shoulders droop even further, he knew that she was indeed hurt by his words, but her silence told him that she had nothing in her defense either.

"_Her father wanted me to protect her, but if I continue to protect her from everything it will only make her weak,"_ he reasoned. Recalling his training, he remembered how the instructors would call every error and mistake you had made to the forefront, but at the same time they did praise exemplary conduct to encourage growth and personal development.

"It takes time and a reputation to earn the respect your father has from our people, and a reputation is something that grows according to you and your actions. I might not respect you as I do your father, but you have earned my trust, and that is the foundation of respect."

Leaning against the door frame, he could see the princess contemplating his words carefully for several long moments before she spoke again.

"How would I go about earning your respect? Or that of our class for that matter?" she asked.

Blinking, the Corporal was surprised by the question, and for once completely caught off guard by his ward.

"_What would she need to do to earn my respect?"_

The question was far more difficult than it might have seemed. Lance gave respect only to those he felt had earned it, not those who deserved it. His rank and extensive disciplinary record were proof of that. Short of his father, the king himself and the former queen, he honestly couldn't think of anyone he respected to that degree.

Tying the three together, he was able to pinpoint a few things, but not many.

"I respect people who make sound decisions, who have a history of making wise choices and possess common sense. Strength and endurance of character or person are also traits that I respect in others," he answered.

Again the princess seemed to be deep in though, but with a sigh she nodded her head.

"I have a lot to think about…thank you for your honesty," she added before leaving for her own room.

Waiting for several minutes just to be sure she was not going to return with more questions, he then changed into his nightwear, looking forward to some rest. If there was one thing he hated, it was being woken up by an outside source.

Several Mutraddi Ultra Beasts had learned that the painful way.

Before closing his eyes, a single through crossed his mind.

"_Did I do the right thing?"_

_

* * *

_

Eyes snapping open, Lance turned off his alarm clock just as it was about to start beeping. By far it was one of the most evil devices he had ever seen, more akin to an instrument of torture than anything else. The only reason he had one was Ilana, insisting that his internal time piece was not as reliable as a machine.

Never mind the fact said machine was two minutes off according to his 'defective' internal timer.

Changing into a pair of sweat pants and a tank top, he went through his morning stretches to help shake the last few vestiges of sleep from his system.

"_It's only ten after two, I have three hours until Octus wakes from his sleep cycle and four hours until the princess wakes up, that should be more than enough time,"_ he thought to himself with a smirk as he stealthy opened his door and checked to see if the coast was clear.

It was a little known fact that he never completely closed his door. It was much quieter to open without having to turn the knob after all, and unless a person lifted it slightly before opening it the door would make a loud squeak. This was his 'security' system that insured no one could sneak in on him but at the same time allow him to sneak out at will.

Reaching the bottom of the stairwell, he again smirked to himself. That was until he rounded the corner to the living room.

"You're late," a voice whispered.

Dropping into a defensive stance he quickly scanned the nearly pitch black room until a familiar figure came into sight.

Illuminated only by the moonlight, standing by the large bay view window of the living room was Ilana.

"Usually you're already out by now," she added, her voice still in a quiet hushed tone.

It didn't take long for her words to click in his mind however, nor did their connotations.

"_Busted"_

"Come on, I don't want to put you any more behind schedule than you already are," she whispered as she went towards the kitchen.

Slightly confused, he was again surprised when he saw her stop at the back door.

"Well, are you going for your jog or not?" she asked.

"You knew? Wait, you spy on me?" he asked, both surprised that she had been able to do so without his notice and at the same time angered at the invasion of his privacy.

"No…well, not exactly…at first…come on, we'll talk about it outside, I don't want to wake up Octus," she explained before crouching down and crawling through the doggy door.

Shaking his head, Lance followed, curious at just what the princess was up to. With no other alternative to finding out, he crouched down and crawled out after her.

Now outside where there was more light thanks to the full moon and stars, he could see that she was wearing a similar outfit to his own, sweats and a short sleeved shirt, but with two bands around her wrists. She was performing several stretches, seemingly waiting for him.

"Princess, what are you doing?"

Looking away from him she responded quietly, not a whisper but still in a hushed tone.

"Exactly what it looks like I'm doing, I'm joining you for your morning jog."

Giving her a questioning look, he decided to play along, for now at least and shrugged.

Starting at a slightly slower than normal pace, he moved across the back yard to the sidewalk that ran down their street, princess in tow but catching up.

Slowing down to let her catch up, he asked the obvious question.

"What did you mean about not spying on me _at first_?"

Ok, so obvious for him anyways.

"I had…a bad dream some days ago and it woke me up. When I got up to wash my face I saw you jogging down the street out my window. When you didn't say anything at breakfast I was curious and stayed up the next night to see if you would do it again or not. When you did I figured that it must have been something you did every morning," she replied.

Nodding at her reasoning, he then asked the next obvious question.

"How did you know I crawled out through the hole in the backdoor?"

Turning to look at him she smiled.

"That took me a week to figure out, pretty clever of you by the way. I knew you weren't using any of the doors because Octus is tied in to the security system, if you tried to deactivate it you would wake him up," she stated.

"And how did you know I didn't just use my window?" he posed, himself curious at how she had figured out his little secret.

"Because you're not one to take risks if you can avoid it. Even though it's slim, you could fall and hurt yourself, and that would jeopardize your 'mission'," she answered.

All around, he was impressed by her guesswork, though he smirked at her last response.

"Close, but not quiet. I don't use the window because it makes more noise when I land," he corrected her.

"Close enough," she fired back, stepping up her pace and moving ahead of him slightly.

Furrowing his brow, the lone wolf was not amused.

Stepping up his own pace he quickly caught up to her.

"Why are you doing this?" he asked, starting to feel the intent behind his morning workout kicking in as he began breathing deeper.

"Because I can," she replied before once again stepping her pace up and moving ahead of him.

Narrowing his eyes, Lance knew what she was doing.

"_Fine, she wants to challenge me, then I'll just have to teach her a lesson,"_ he thought to himself with a now noticeable grin.

Stepping up his pace, he again quickly caught up to her, and then began pulling ahead of her. He was still only jogging, far from his full speed but enough that he was thankful for the cold morning air.

Exercising had always been a form of relaxation to him, the only problem being that Galaluna was rather dry and hot most of the year. Only closer to the planets equator was there any measureable rainfall. This meant that aside from the heat his body would naturally produce; there was the planets dry heat to take into consideration.

Earth however had a much cooler climate, particularly in the morning. Cooler climate meant more time he could spend exercising.

Feeling his heart rate starting to climb his grin grew larger. Usually his morning jog was little more than a way to relax and wake up for the day, but now he was actually having a little fun.

His grin shrank however when Ilana caught up to him and kept at his side.

With a smirk of her own she waved as she started pulling ahead of him.

"_She is not going to beat me."_

Lance's competitive streak had for the first time in a long time been unearthed. It wasn't that he had it under control persay as much as it was he had lacked any real competition to bother trying.

Moving his pace from a normal jog to a brisk one, he quickly caught up to the princess and glared before letting loose full throttle and breaking into a run. He wasn't just going to beat her, he was going to destroy her.

Pumping his arms and legs as hard as he could, he focused on the end of the sidewalk ahead. Their house was located on the end of a long double street, so one could literally 'run around the block' leaving and returning from the opposite direction.

Hearing light panting, he looked out of the corner of his eye and saw the princess had not only caught up to him but was actually keeping up with him. She wasn't pulling away from him, but he wasn't getting any further away from her either.

Side by side the two reached the end and turned.

"Not bad princess, but you forget, Corporal or not, I'm still a member of the Elite Guard. You have no idea what kind of training I've been through," the teen said between breaths.

"And, you, forget, that, my father, is a war hero, and my mother, was, assassinated. You really think, politics was, the only thing, my father put me through?" she shot back as the two reached the second turn.

Side by side, the two teens were neck and neck. Lance was impressed by the princess's tenacity and resolve, but knew there was no chance of her actually beating him.

Kicking in what reserve strength he had left, he pumped as hard as he could as the two raced down the straight line of concrete. The unspoken destination being the backdoor of their home, where the race had started. Lance went into overgear as he felt his muscles aching from the strain he was putting them through.

"Not, going, to, work, _Corporal_," Ilana taunted as she yet again caught up to him and actually started to put distance between them.

Confused, the male teen found his eyes being pulled downward and focusing on the princess's legs.

He was running at full speed, she on the other hand wasn't running as fast, she was simply taking longer strides than he was. It was funny really, something between running and skipping, each stride of her legs was covering more than twice the distance his were.

"_I don't believe it; she's actually going to beat me?"_

That didn't mean however he was going to just let her win. They had never agreed on any specific rules, and it was more of a spur of the moment thing. He knew he could still win; the question was if he was willing to go that far to win a stupid competition she had started.

Seeing their home quickly coming into view, he felt his body make his decision for him.

Rules or not, he hated losing almost as much as being woke up.

Peeling of his now sweat soaked tank top with one arm, he began to twirl it as he removed his communicator from his wrist using his teeth.

"_There is no way I'm going to let her hold this over me,"_ he growled mentally. It was rare for the princess to ever actually have something over him, but the few times she did made him ill. Literally, it always lead to him getting sick or injured in same way, as with him being forced to carry all her purchases from the previous days 'shopping excursion'.

Running his communicators wrist band through one of his shirts arm holes, he gripped it between his fingers and began lassoing it overhead.

"_Only have one shot, I've got to-there!"_

Snapping his arm forward like an angry cobra, the makeshift bolero flew overhead towards its target.

Just as the two entered their backyard, Lance smirked as his communicator's wristband snapped onto the princess's ankle and his shirt caught around her other leg.

"AAH!"

Purely out of reflex, the teen stooped and held out his right arm and caught Ilana as she fell back.

"What the-"

Not giving her a chance to figure out what happened, he hefted her up onto his shoulder and ground his feet into the earth, sliding across their sidewalk and coming to a stop right in front of their door.

"Lance! You cheated!"

Feeling one of her tiny fists strike his back, he remembered that he was still holding her over his shoulder. That in turn led to the realization that he was essentially carrying the heir to the throne as one would a sandbag.

Shaking his head, the Corporal quickly set down the now flustered princess.

"I would have won and you…_ohhhh_," with a weak groan, the young woman gripped her stomach with both arms as she slowly squatted close to the ground.

Panicking, Lance ran several different scenarios through his mind before coming to what he hoped was the answer.

"You pushed yourself too hard, you're body isn't use to this much stress," he chided.

He watched as she placed one hand on the ground and lowered her head slightly.

Sighing, he quickly untangled her ankles and unclipped his communicator before returning it to his wrist.

"You need to sit down, if you don't calm yourself you'll get sick," he warned as he took a seat on the door step.

With another weak groan, the princess managed to look up into his face.

"Lance…I…sorry, I just…"

Now feeling ashamed of himself, the teen slowly shook his head.

"_She wanted to win so badly that I pushed her to this?"_

"Lance, can you…help me up?" she asked weakly, her face once again lowering. It had been only a glimpse, but he could see the disappointment etched in her features, disappointment in herself for failing.

Rising, he bent over and held out his hand for her so he could pull her up.

"I'm sorry Lance…I'm sorry…" she mumbled causing him to frown.

"Sorry? Princess, you did better than I thought you would, you did better than most of my graduating class, you have nothing to be sorry about," he offered as he helped her up.

It was strange, usually she always seemed to be larger than life, a relentless unstoppable force of nature that did as it pleased. Right now however he was seeing the weak and almost frightened teenage girl he had rescued from the Shaman Mutraddi Beast.

Moving one hand around her waste to help her stand, he was again surprised, this time at what he felt. It was true that he had caught her several times, helped her up or pulled her out of the way of something, but he had never actually held her before.

He had assumed that she was the same as more nonmilitary people, moderately in shape but mostly soft. What he felt in his arms however was lithe muscle. She might have lacked mass, but she had far more definition that he would have expected.

This lead to another realization. Something was wrong, as there was no way their little run should have put her in this condition.

"Lance…I'm sorry…"

All he felt was her twitch in his arms as she suddenly shifted her weight onto her opposite leg as before pivoting and pushing him over her knee.

Face met grass as laughter filled his ears.

"You shouldn't let your guard down like that," she teased with a sing a song tone before laying her right hand against the backdoor.

"I believe this means I win," she declared triumphantly as the lone wolf continued to lay face first and tried to come to grips with the fact he had just been tricked by the 'prim and proper' princess.

* * *

AN: Surprised by the ending? I've been wanting to do something like that for awhile. There is no way Ilana can spend this much time around Lance and NOT be influenced by him after all. It will start off with small and subtle things then eventually become more pronounced. The story will go back and forth between Ilana in the present and Lance in the past. This is to show cause and effect on Ilana's development and how she became the way she is now. Hope to hear reviews from my readers, they really are what keep us writers going at times, they encourage us and that inspire us, so please keep that in mind.

As for last chapter, since so many people actually were interested in knowing, the best translation for what Ilana said to Lance was: "Heart without body will live only momentarily."

Till next time, Ja Ne!


	3. Weight of the World

Weight of the World

AN: Well its back to the present for another look at how our favorite princess is doing with the aftermath. I know this chapter is a bit shorter and a little on the bleak side, but that's war. Not all the chapters will be cheerful, and not all of them will be this dark either. If I haven't responded to your reviews yet I ask that you please give me a bit more time. My editor is suffering from a computer virus and other computer woes while I'm dealing with work issues…stupid audit.

I do not own Sym-Bionic Titan, if I did Ilana would have more lines per episode than Octus.

* * *

Ilana cringed when she noticed the group approaching her.

Five days had passed since the liberation of Galaluna, five days since she had temporarily assumed control of the throne.

Her father was recovering, and she knew that he would ready to take back his position within a month at the most. To her however, a month seemed to last to eternity.

Taking a deep calming breath she recounted her 'training' and drew from what experience she had gained back on earth.

It was true that Lance had been instrumental in her campaign for Class President, but surprisingly, it had been Kimberly of all people that helped her retain the position of power.

Though it was a great deal of time longer before she was aware of the Luna family's true identities, she had become close friends with them through her relationship with 'Newmen' Octus.

'_When you are popular, or when you have any power to your name, all people fall under one of two categories,'_ Kimmy's voice echoed.

Though their clothing was worn and ragged, the group carried the unmistakable air of nobility to them.

"Your highness," the apparent 'leader' of the group spoke before giving a respectful bow.

'_Either they are going to be a complete suck up and brownnose you to get something,'_ Kimmy continued.

The urge to activate her Corus armor and threaten the (former) Noble's into doing some actual work for a change instead of always coming to her demanding that they be returned to their former positions of power was becoming more difficult to resist with each passing day.

Nodding and giving all the impression that she was deeply intrigued and moved by their comments, she mentally groaned and could almost see herself slamming her face into a wall just to relieve her sanity from dealing with the bigoted morons. It was almost with joyful glee that she turned her attention to the second group who were now approaching her.

'_Or they are going to throw bricks at you,"_ Kimmy's golden words of wisdom continued to echo through her mind as Baron coughed to gain the groups attention.

"Your highness, you have still not declared your decision on who it is that will take the Corporal's place on your team should Modula return. Though I am the _most_ qualified, I have done as you requested and gathered the men who received training for operation of the Manus battle armor."

With a mental scoff it took everything Ilana had not to roll her eyes and order the Lieutenant to take a long walk off a short plank.

"_Lance doesn't need a replacement because he will be fine,"_ she reminded herself as she shifted her attention to the men gathered and gave them the once over.

Most of them were in pretty bad shape, none of them seemed to have any build of statute to them, Modula had apparently seen fit to starve his prisoners to keep them too weak to cause him any problems. It was the same everywhere she looked, thin, half starved and nearly too weak to even work. How she was expected to begin any restoration with such limited means was become a more apparent problem with each passing day.

"_Lance, I know you can hear me…please, I need your help. I can't keep this up much longer."_

Feeling a familiar pair of arms circling around her, she could feel her breathing calm and her frazened nerves relax.

"Thank you Lieutenant, your diligence _'in avoiding work'_ and effort _'to take what never will be yours'_ to aid our people _'for glory'_ will not go unnoticed _'enjoy your rank, it's the last promotion you'll ever get'_, and I will see to it personally that you are properly rewarded once my father returns to power," she replied with an honest smile and polite bow.

The reason her smile was genuine however would never be know to those present.

"_Yes, I will see to it that you are placed under Lance's personal command when he awakens. I think he'll find this to be a welcome gift for his aid in freeing our people."_ An almost ghostly double of the princess grinned but faded into Ilana's mind as she spoke.

"I apologize, but at this time we still lack a sufficiently repaired Manus unit to utilize the Sym-Bionic defense unit," she lied. " It is a…difficult system to operate, and unless both armors are in fully functional condition the system will not work properly-"

"Excuse me your highness, but you have still not informed us of your decision on the matter of security. How much longer are we expected to…dwell with the drabble of the commoners?" one of the nobles spoke up interrupting her.

Keeping her expression calm, despite the many choice words of earthen gutter language flittering across her mind, the princess was cut off by one of 'Baron's Brigade' as she had taken to calling them.

"If there is no possibility of utilizing our skills, why have you bothered bringing us here? Surely you don't expect us to dig in the mud with the fifes?"

'_The key, is to keep a protective circle of suck ups to protect you from the ones that want to throw bricks at you,'_ Kimmy finished as Ilana mentally smirked.

"You will do whatever it is her highness orders you to do, the Royal Guard exists to serve her majesty not question it!" one of the other nobles (that she now disliked slightly less) shouted.

Allowing the group to descend into a near brawling argument, Ilana turned her back to them and raised her communicator.

"Octus, anything to report?"

The tiny screen came to life and revealed a familiar transparent blue android.

"Not at this time, communications are still down and it will take some time to restore them. Short range communications should be restored before sundown but anything capable of reaching another planet will take at least another week."

"Excuse me, your highness?"

Turning and offering a fake blush, Ilana covered her mouth apologetically.

"M-my apologies, but I must go, Octus has informed me that they are experiencing difficulties with restoring communications. I will be sure to address your concerns as quickly as possible, I thank you for your patience gentlemen but I must see to this at once," she replied before activating her Corus armor and taking off.

Once she had sufficiently distanced herself from the squabbling nobles and former Royal Guard she sighed.

"They're getting harder and harder to evade with each passing day," she grumbled.

"Then might I suggest you stop avoiding them and simply deal with them?"

"Ah! Octus, how did you-"

"You never turned off your communicator remember?"

This time the princess's blush was genuine, she had been caught and she knew it.

"I must say that your skill at deception is…frightening."

Ilana smirked at the androids comment.

"Well, you can thank Kimberly for that, she was the one who taught and trained me after all," she replied.

"I seem to recall your stating that she was only assisting you in politics, I fail to see what lying has to do with your duties as princess."

Ilana nodded but her smirk remained.

"True, but _unfortunately_ Kimberly only knew about earth politics, not our own."

"But lying to the people doesn't get anything done," Octus pointed out.

"No, but it keeps them off my back at least," Ilana muttered.

Though his face showed no emotion, Ilana could almost see the disapproving glow of his large yellow eye.

"I'm doing the best that I can Octus, I'm not my father," she defended.

"No your not, but do you think Lance would approve of this?" Octus asked.

Several moments of silence passed before the android spoke again.

"Ok, that was a bad example, but you know full well that Lance never approves of running away from a fight," he pushed.

Sighing, Ilana's form sagged within her Corus armor.

"I know…but…what else can I do? We have no food, no supplies, and no material. The people are too emaciated and weak to even start reconstruction, the nobles are only interested in getting back their former power and half the military is kissing up to Baron. At this rate Madula won't need to send an Ultra Beast to finish us off because we'll do it ourselves."

Taking another deep breath, the princess felt her stomach spasm and throat tighten.

"What am I supposed to do Octus?"

"You know that I cannot answer that question Ilana, but I will help you any way that I can. I'll see if I can get long range communications up sooner than my estimates predict," he offered.

Giving a rueful smile, the princess nodded.

"Thank you Octus, please, if there is anything you need or that I can do, let me know."

With that the line went dead, and the young ruler found herself alone within the cold blackness of her armor. The soft golden glow of her instruments illuminating only enough to be read, her face lowered, eyes hidden beneath a growing shadow.

"_I just want to run away from here, I want to go back to earth, I want to be Ilana the high school student, not Ilana the princess,"_ part of her mind cried.

For so long her only dream had been to return to Galaluna, free her father and her people, and pick things back up where they had been before the war. That notion and desire however had quickly died upon their return. The weight of her responsibilities was choking her, crushing her, and at this point was threatening to kill her.

She had been trained in how to rule by her father, she had been taught how to fight by his Master at Arms, and had learned every form of dance, music, and song by the royal courts most talented minstrels. She had the finest trainers, the best tutors her people had to offer in nearly every field imaginable. Even Lance had taken to training her during their exile, from leadership and command, to more advanced combat techniques.

But none of that had prepared her for what she was dealing with now. There _was_ nothing that could prepare a person for what she was dealing with now. A physical, tangible enemy was something she could deal with, but this was simply too much.

People saw her as the light of their hope, the guiding beacon of salvation that would deliver them from Modula.

What they failed to see however, was that she was only a seventeen year old girl, alone, and lost trying to fill in a role much larger than she could hope to fill.

"_Ilana, you're stronger than this, come on girl, suck it up and deal with it! This problem isn't going to fix itself!"_ she shouted mentally.

"I just have to keep things together for now. If I can keep everything from falling apart, father will be able to fix this, I know he can," she repeated to herself, praying that it was true.

* * *

End chapter 3

AN: Sorry if this one seems a bit dark, but you have to understand that Ilana is dealing with A LOT right now. She's not weak, but right now she's in unfamiliar territory and has far more on her plate than she has for the last year or was trained for. How things will turn out you'll have to wait and see, I can't just tell you or you'd have no reason to come back would you lol. Next chapter will of course be yet another starring Lance, and be yet another 'flashback' chapter of sorts. Expect the unexpected, and look forward to learning a bit more about our favorite Princess.

Till next time, Ja Ne!


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